How to Use Twitter’s Advanced Search Engine for Networking & Marketing

Twitter cannot be ignored, point blank. If you and your business have written it off as a site simply for teenagers or idle youngsters to rant, make noise and post about every meal they’re having, you’re dead wrong. Any website that has 645 million active users with 58 million public conversations per day is not something you should be ignoring in your marketing strategy; and if you have an account but are not using it, I’m going to convince you to start doing otherwise.

Twitter is a stage for building powerful credibility for your brand as its an open platform allowing the powerful players to get their messages out there; and when I say powerful I don’t mean the companies that can spend the most on advertising but the brands willing to connect with a global audience in unique and genuine ways. Brands can now directly reach out to and connect with people directly, in real-time and get real responses. Compare that to television or website banner ads and you’ll get the picture. Traditional advertising methods are somewhat like shooting with your eyes closed and hoping to hit something. Even banner ad click rates are at an unattractive all time low dropping from as high as 80% in the 90′s to now under 0.2%. So you definitely need a new strategy and Twitter is a good starting point in social media whether you are a car salesman, lawyer or IT solutions provider.

The most powerful feature I adore about Twitter is its advanced search feature which basically allows you to target any conversation relating to keywords your business covers. So if you want to find someone talking about bicycle repairs, you can and will have the opportunity to directly start a conversation with that person, for free!

Let’s Get Into Twitter’s Advanced Search

The whole point of marketing and advertising is getting your message to the right eyes and people, so targeting has always been a key factor in the strategy. Essentially, with Twitter’s advanced search feature, you can search for “I have a headache” and the results will show everyone who has recently said that phrase within the entire Twitterverse, within the last minute. I’m sure you can see how valuable that is for painkiller suppliers for example.

Here you’ll find the options to search and match exact phrases, target languages, specific people in certain locations and even include emotional responses related to their tweets whether its positive or negative (Shown at the bottom with emoticons). This is targeting in its most potent form and your marketing team needs to be leveraging this powerful tool.

Let’s try searching for something, let’s say “where can I find”, matching the exact phrase. Instantly we’re provided with results with the most recent people asking a question on where they can find something highlighted bold. Match this will your product, service or target market keywords and you’ll see the power. Here you can directly respond to anyone.

Forget About Spamming Anyone

So you’re excited to start trying out this new feature and can’t wait to get the word out and promoting yourself, take it easy. There is one more thing you need to take note of and that’s never spamming or overwhelming this newly found audience with your message.

With great power comes great responsibility, yeah I know that’s a bit cliché, but its true. This isn’t the time to start selling, selling, selling but its about engaging in a genuine way and showing real interest in the lives with whom you connect. You can approach a complete stranger and start selling them something, that’s true, but the most valuable transactions and business relationships are gained upon the pinnacles of trust and authenticity. Genuinely seek out people in your niche and target market and seek to build relationships without being hungry for the sale. Your audience cannot be viewed as prey and the wolves in the social media world are quickly identified, called out and ignored. Be authentic and be genuine as you execute your marketing campaign.

Now go forth and engage! Start experimenting with Twitter search and you’ll see how you can reap the rewards. Remember that the stronger the relationship and trust there is in you and your brand the more likely people with refer you, spend money with you and be loyal.